


On the Stairs

by CorbiesNest



Category: Fashion Model RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Photographs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 11:00:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13703091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorbiesNest/pseuds/CorbiesNest
Summary: Kendall and Cara are attending the British Fashion Awards when they run into Harry Styles. Kendall's feelings about the meeting are complicated...A drabble inspired by the picture here: https://www.her.ie/celeb/awkward-harry-styles-bumps-into-two-of-his-ex-girlfriends-at-the-british-fashion-awards-204437





	On the Stairs

Kendall saw the photograph by chance. She was idly flicking through a magazine and there it was, the three of them standing on the stairs looking at each other, oblivious to the photographer.

It was such a brief instant, but Kendall remembered it so clearly, the awkwardness, the way her heart was pounding, the way he looked at her, the way Cara looked at him.

Kendall had been dancing downstairs when Cara whispered a suggestion in her ear, her slim body pressed against her side, the sequins from her dress slightly scratchy against her arm.

For a second Kendall hesistated, then Cara grabbed her hand. Laughing, Kendall gave way and followed her friend through the crowd, marvelling at Cara’s effortless confidence as she carved a pathway through the guests - the rich and idle of London gathered together like a group of preening peacocks.

Skillfully Cara avoided the outstretched arms of a middle-aged music producer, then reached the stairs still holding Kendall’s hand.

As they went up the stairs Kendall glanced down, admiring the way the slit in Cara’s dress showed off a single smooth brown leg – somehow the fact that the other leg was hidden made it all the more desirable.

Kendall’s heart was pounding. Then Cara said something, but not to her.

‘Harry! Awright mate?’ Cara was putting on a faux Cockney accent and waving at a figure at the top of the stairs who turned round and grinned wickedly.

Of course Harry Styles would be here – it was London, it was fashion, it would be almost more suprising if he wasn’t in attendance.

Yet actually coming face to face with him was still a shock. He had changed since Kendall last saw him. His hair had grown, and he was wearing a sharply tailored striped suit. It made him look older than the T-shirts and shorts Kendall remembered.

Harry and Cara were talking non-stop in some private argot of their own, asking about people Kendall had never met, and places she had never been.

The two of them looked utterly at ease, each as cool as the other, almost as though they were just friends, as if there had never been anything else between them.

And then there was Kendall, holding the hand of the girl she desired, speaking with the man who’d maybe loved them both.

Almost jealous, Kendall wondered how Cara and Harry came to be like that, how lust could turn to friendship. How the hurts of the past could be hidden so deep no one ever saw the scars.

Harry turned to speak to her, and Kendall froze. She uttered some inane response and Harry smiled, the practiced smile he used in public, which dimpled his cheeks but barely touched his eyes. Then he moved on down the stairs.

Kendall briefly watched him leave, then Cara tugged at her hand, ‘Come on K! Follow me.’

And Kendall did, giggling as the two girls raced along the hallway, stumbling in their high heels. The meeting with Harry was just another awkward moment to be laughed off.

Except, like so many moments in Kendall’s life, it was caught on camera.


End file.
